Vikings: Luxury-Buffet Restaurant

ABBEY: Another buffet restaurant that you can enjoy dining in. Make sure to have your table reservations to avoid disappointment. We were supposed to be there at 7pm but due to flight delays we got there by 8pm; only an hour and a half to indulge. 

During that time people are still queueing for their tables. The place is jam-packed but it has a homey ambiance and the aroma of delicious food all over the place. My first plates are chicken satay, pork belly and baby back ribs which I found a little less moist and juicy. You have to put sauce to have the flavor up. I got Wilma her favorite puto-bumbong; a voilet-colored rice delight topped with niyo and brown sugar. I tried pork spare ribs, nido soup, and shanghai fried rice. 

They serve Japanese cuisine like sushi, fresh salmon carvings, and miso soup. 

WILL: Are you devoted in pursuing a sensual pleasure in enjoyment of good food but you are in a tight budget? Then, go ahead to the Mall of Asia Bldg B, oh I forgot, if you want to cut a queue please make a reservation through their facebook or email at reservations.vikings@yahoo.com. 
      I am very very satisfied on their bibingka, puto bumbong, hot taho and pork & shrimp siomai. And the rest?, not good, not bad...just nothing special. 
      Some issues were raised when they confirmed three pax but gave us a table for two people and when they gave me a receipt and not handed my credit card. Until now my card is with them and they secured it as "safe" but when I told them to cut the card into two ask for the name behind those messages, 3 days passed and yet no reply from them. They never refill some of the servings. I don't know why. 
     The dinner costs us Php932.40. Will I go back there? Of course, for eat all you can putobungbong. :) 

Cheese Sticks Recipe

Spring roll wrapper

Cheese (not quick melt)

Cut the cheese into stick and wrapped it just like a spring roll.

Heat oil and deep fry the cheese stick until golden brown.

VERDICT

WILL: Cheese sticks are very popular in Philippines in every party, so popular that the many people now selling this for an afternoon delight together with their gulaman refreshments.

Of course who will not miss this kind of food on your native land, so Abbey, to surprise me, he cooked this. 

      Well, his effort was not wasted, I am so happy to see that cheesesticks on our table. After my dinner I immediately those and delight my taste buds to the salty taste of cheese combined with the sweet 100 island dip. Abbey really knew what I like. Haha! 

Beef Pares Recipe

1/2 kilo of beef (uncut, brisket part)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

4 cloves garlic (minced)

1 medium onion (minced)

2 tbsp ginger (minced)

2 beef cubes

3 pcs star anise

Salt and pepper

4 cups of water

Boil the meat until tender. (maybe an hour in a cooking pot or 20 mins in a pressure cooker). Once done get the beef out of the stock and cut in cubes.

Saute ginger, onion, and garlic. Put in the beef and stir fry it. Next is the soy sauce and 1 cup of beef stock from earlier procedure. Bring it to boil. Once boiling put in the beef cubes and star anise. Add water as necessary to make the beef more tender. After 10-15 mins, put the sugar, salt and pepper. Let the sauce thicken and serve the pares with hot rice.

VERDICT

WILL: I saw a photo of beef tapa and my mind immediately gave a signal to my salivary gland to moisten my mouth. Drooling, so ai requested Abbey to cook that for me, but he was hesitant so I just asked him to cook a morcon for me. 

      I was so excited to go home yesterday since I know that Morcon and gravy is waiting for me. When I am about to sit, there is a bowl of thick sauced meat, and asked Abbey what was that,  with his poker face told me that it was a beef pares as per request. Hearing that I jumped my way to him, squeeze him tight and murmur how much I love him. :) 

      While eating my beef pares, Abbey aked me to take a look and taste off the morcon, I just told him I will eat those later. Haha. The beef pares really reminds me of tapsilogan along 9th avenue caloocan. Haha. So delicious. After I put down my spoon and fork, there is a feeling within that my tummy will be exploding. Haha. I really miss this food. Love it a lot :) 

Jack & Jill Chippy Barbecue Flavor

ABBEY: Red means it has the original flavor of Chippy. The flavor is barbecue and the chips is a good match for an ice-cold soda. A big pack costs almost 4sgd. This is one of our munchies when we watch our favorite tv series.

WILL: "Isa nga pong chippy, yung pula.", thats my dialogue almost every night at one of sari-sari around hour house. I only buy the small one to control myself not eating too much junkies before going to sleep. 

      Chippy, I love you that even I am here in Singapore, we are always looking forward to buy some of you in Lucky Plaza. :) 

Kopiko Brown Coffee

ABBEY:
I like their candy during my elementary days. I still remember their advertisement "If you want coffee and you don't have the time, treat yourself with Kopiko; coffee candy Kopiko". And I was surprised when they venture into instant coffee business. The coffee has a good aroma. It tastes creamy and has strong flavor. Each pack contains less than 25 sachets. This serves as an alternate for my usual cup of coffee.

WILL: Well, Kopiko is famous for being the first candy flavored coffee and damn its so good and its not a surprise for me that they came up to an idea to produce an instant 3-in-1 coffees. 
      What's the difference of this Kopiko Brown Coffee to others? They use brown sugar rather than white. Its awesome...at first, but when it settled in, you can taste the burnt flavor of coffee beans. Oh, my heart never palpitates and it never affects my sleep. 

Queen Mani

ABBEY:
This pack rests on our cabinet for many months. Used by the taste of Choc-Nut we didn't bother to open it. The time came to try it. Wow, not too sweet and tastes good. Very creamy and moist. I ate more than 10 pieces at one sitting.

WILL: Then here comes a competitor.. The Queen Mani. This milk chocolate wants to share to the  fame and legacybrought by the chocnut. hehe.Please do not blame me for making some comparison
with the one I grew up with.
      Well, on positive side, this is more creamier but lesser peanut. Competition is good. Keep up the good work, do not change the quality :)

Cupp Keyk

ABBEY:
This costs 2.50php back in Philippines when it was first introduced in the market. I think it costs 6php nowadays. It still has the same taste even the size is comparably smaller and the package design was changed. A cup cake is individually contained in a foil-pack to keep it fresh. They are good partner for my coffee breaks

WILL: Cupp keyk is cheaper version of Philippines to the very well-known cupcakes of the west. 
      For only 6Php each you can linger in to the chocolatety bread and its nutty toppings! This is can be a great team-up with my tea! Love this a lot! 

Magic Flakes

ABBEY: Magic flakes offer more crackers than any brand in the Philippines. With four crackers in a pack, it's a quick-fire solution to the hunger you experience hours before mealtime. 

This is also a good combo with coffee or tea. Now, the crackers had evolved. They have  cheese, peanut butter, chocolate and butter fillings. I have tasted it from time to time but I keep coming back for the original :)

WILL:  I love this crackers. Unlike other crackers that has this dull taste this is quite salty. 

       A great partner with my hot tea. We bought this at Philippines and only costs us not more than $2 per pack of 10. Hehe. 

Country Style

ABBEY: Wilma and I both reminisced the breakfasts and snacks that we had when we saw their branch at SM Marilao. She introduced me to Country Style in Salcedo, Makati . A doughnut or sandwich costs less than 50php. I like their breakfast sandwiches and Triple Choco Boom. Perfect match for my chocolate doughnut is coffee. We grabbed a dozen of Triple Choco Boom for both our families and they like it too.

WILL:  This cafe gave us so many memories. At their Salcedo branch, Abbey and I do our morning date. Haha! 
       Triple choco boom is my favorite. Dough, toppings and fillings are all chocolate flavored. But do not get me wrong, it is not that too sweet! I am so addicted at their bagel ham and cheese. Great alternative and cheaper than krispy kreme. Hehe. 

BonChon Philippines - Trinoma Branch

ABBEY: My wife's niece, Ynnah, is on the hype of Korean fever. We had a day with the kids and asked them where should we eat our snack. 

Ynnah replied readily "At Bon Chon". I had no idea what it was. Wilma told me that its a Korean fast-food chain. A 1-piece chicken meal costs more than 100php but reasonable. 

The chicken is covered with delicious sauce. I don't know what its made of but it tastes great. The texture is firm but soft and juicy. I assume that they enjoyed it too as I didn't heard any violent reaction from them.

WILL: This restaurant is making a buzz not just in Manila but also in other countries. This is one of the famous restaurant from South Korea and I am really shocked that my niece do not know anything about this. Hehe. 

      Ecstatic she is, we headed here for lunch. They ordered chicken rice, for me I have the chicken burger and abbey got the beef bulgogi. 

     Superb! There is something in their chicken and sauce that is so tasty! No wonder that they are now the talk of the town. 

This is located at TriNoma, just along at Max's. Battle of the chickens ayt? Haha. 

Chic-Boy Chicken at Baboy Lechon

ABBEY: Chic-boy took a lot of heat last mid-December. Our experience there is good. We went there for dinner after a spa. we had pork liempo and chicken along with an order of adobong kangkong. Both the pork and chicken are flavorful. They complement well with hot rice. The soup came late but that doesn't make it any less delicious. 

Total bill is less than 2kphp for 4 pax. By the way eating here will make you full but not a "chickboy" :)

WILL: After a massage, Den and John drove us to Chic-Boy. This is located at west avenue. Awesome. The place has dim light that makes it cozy. 

      The food? OMG! Delicious and yet affordable. Oh, they also offered a sashimi. :) 

Jollibee Chickenjoy

ABBEY: There are couple of attempts for the Pinoys in Singapore to make fried chicken to taste and look like from Jollibee but none of them came close enough to the original. We never fail to visit one of its branches to indulge in that crispy-liciuos and juicy-licious treat. Matched with hot rice and saucy gravy it's a meal fit for a king :) As their tagline says "Pinaka-na, the best pa"

WILL:  This is one of the things we're usually taking it for granted when we were there in Philippines. If you are in other place pala, you will miss the crunchiness and juiciness of this Jollibee's pride. 
       Foreign fast foods tried to conquer the best chicken title but nothing beats this. Hehe. For only not more than Php80 you can get one of this with rice and drinks. 
       Jollibee is a must to visit and taste once you arrived at the Philippines. Babalik-balikan! 

Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken

ABBEY: For both instances that we visited this place it was almost the end of our vacation. This is located in SM Annex beside Wendy's hamburgers. "Ola, Señor, Señora!" that will be the greeting you will hear upon entering the restaurant. 

An order of chicken dish starts from 150php. You can top it up with 50php to have unlimited soup and drink. The price is reasonable as the serving is big; big enough for big guy like me :) 

WILL: This not our first time here, we tasted this Peri-Peri, hmmmm, I think it was 2008, long long time ago. Ha! We never do blogging when we are dating and I am not into taking pictures. Actually I do not have facebook back then. i am just a loyal subscriber of friendster. Haha. Enough with reminiscing. Haha!
We re-visited their SM North branch. This Peri-Peri gave a good impression on out first visit and never failed to impress us again on our second visit. 
      The chicken cut is still big! OMG! How can I eat all those meat. Haha! 

RSM Lutong Bahay

ABBEY: This restaurant is one of the diners that lines up around the lake Taal. It means that they also have a viewing deck in which you can take snaps of the Taal volcano. We went to Leslie's the last time so we decided for something new. 

RSM also has bulalo in their menu. The breeze is so cold that when they serve the dish it came in a food warmer to keep the soup hot. My wife likes the bone marrow. We also had crispy tawilis and pata. Total bill is 4700php. While having dinner a quartet can play and sing songs for you. Good place, good food, and good friends.

WILL: This is one of the place that you can get the Bulalo, last time we ate at Leslie's. 
      Reminiscing out first visit of out barkada here while Abbey is taking shots of the magnificent Taal Volcano. At the back of tge restaurant thwy have this great view of Taal, nice idea for a wedding, hmmm actually they are offering such service for a low cost. 
     As usual we splurged in for Bulalo, Crispy Pata, and Tawilis. Everything is great! So many food but we are full. Haha! Imagine the great feeling of sipping a hot soup on a very cold and windy place. Hehe. Crispy Pata is just like ordinary. The Tawilis? Not bad but not so good. 
     For drinks I and baby ordered for a black gulaman. Napakatamis! All in all we have a great time and spend almost 5k for a group of 10 people. Hehe. 
Sa uulitin! 

Starbucks Philippines

ABBEY: At the end of each year Starbucks releases a planner. Since we were back in Philippines during that period we started our quest. My wife wants to have that planner. Its easy for us to have those 17 stamps as we pushed our relatives and friends to have coffee after dinner. In four days we got it. What I like he most on their Christmas blend is hot white chocolate mocha with cranberry (both hot and cold); next is the toffee nut.

WILL: I am not really a fan of this cafe, I really found their frap to be to bland. But I want their 2012 planner so Abbey and I hit the place not just once. Hehe. 
      I first tasted their holiday coffee in Baguio. Since then, I love Starbucks hot coffee. Haha. Even here in Singapore asked Abbey to buy the Venti hot white chocolate mocha
      Hmm. I hope there will be more seats in every cafe. Oh!, one more thing, in Philippines, Starbucks serves as one of the status symbol. Haha. Once you have a picture with Starbucks coffee you can consider yourself "sosyal". Argh! Haha

Choco-Late de Batirol

ABBEY: A cup of hot chocolate made in an old fashioned way? Here is the place to go. This is located inside Camp John Hay. A cup costs less than 100php. You can also add to your list is their delicious arrozcaldo and tokwa't baboy (the soy sauce and vinegar combination has a very distinct taste). The hot choco as well as the porridge complement well the coldness of the camp. In here you can relax and enjoy nature while having a good chat with your loved ones and friends.

WILL:  I miss the chocolate batirol of my Lola and even I will ask her to prepare something for me, she can't do it because she do not know where she should buy the ingredients. Hehe. 
       So here at Camp John Hay, we headed to suffice my cravings. For Php80 per cup, you can linger on this very delicious chocolate de batirol. 
      I asked Abbey not to order any food because we are just almost 2 hours away for dinner. But he insist. He ordered to Lugaw and Tokwa't Baboy. OMG! I am so happy, haha! The lugaw and tokwa't baboy is such a perfect couple. The tokwa't baboy sou sauce has this unexplainable taste. Hehe. Sweet, sour, salty and spicy in one. I am drooling thinking back the taste. Hehe.